CHOCTAW COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – Local health care access is a goal Choctaw County is determined to provide. A new building, new management, and a new community outlook are some of the improvements made over the past couple of years.

All of the hard work is making a difference. There’s an entirely different attitude at Choctaw Regional Medical Center. More doctors, more services,and that means more patients.

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“It’s close to home, and it was a new hospital, and we had good reports. The doctors, nurses, and physical therapy people that wait on you and everything was real nice, and convenient for us,” says Choctaw Regional Medical Center patient, Walter Fulton.

In just two years, the hospital has gone from having 2 physicians to 9. Growth here means 120 new jobs to the community.

“I was excited about what they did here. They provide acute care, and swing-bed service for the people in the community. It’s a great and progressive hospital, which I thought had done a good job with the community, and basically I wanted to be apart of it,” says Choctaw Regional Medical Center physician, Dr. Richard Holmes.

To bridge the gap between what the hospital can provide, and what the community needs, is one role of the Choctaw County Medical Foundation.

“We’re active now. Another thing we did was get some special stairs built for the physical therapy here in the hospital. Something that was much needed and used every day, but they couldn’t quite pull that off, so the foundation helped with that,” says Choctaw County Medical Foundation Board Member, Deanie Graves.

CEO and Administrator of Choctaw Regional Medical Center, Jamie Rodgers says now when patients come to the hospital, they are getting good service, and good care.

“One of the anecdotes that I see as a sign of our success, is people want to work here in their own community. In the past, people would drive to Starkville to work at a hospital in Starkville, or drive to Europa, but when you have people applying for positions that are in this community, that means a lot to me,” says Rodgers.

Rodgers says the hospital is looking to bring in more patient centered services including surgeries.